MINNEAPOLIS — When Miami running back Kenyan Drake completed his sidewinding path through New England’s prevent defense and crossed the goal line on the game’s final play last week, the Dolphins and their fans went wild with delight.

  • The Miami Dolphins are still riding high after a miracle last-play finish over the New England Patriots
  • The Dolphins are holding onto Playoff hopes, needing wins in their last three games to stay in the race
  • The Vikings had their own miracle win, defeating the Saints in the Playoffs last year on a last-second throw

Not only did they defeat those long-despised Patriots and prevent them from clinching the division title, but they did so with one of the most improbable touchdowns this unpredictable sport can produce. Now, after pulling off that pass-toss-toss-run sequence that covered 69 yards for a 34-33 victory in Miami, the Dolphins have to hit the road to Minnesota.

They’ll face a sputtering Vikings team trying to keep hold of a spot in the playoffs in one of the NFL’s most daunting stadiums for opponents. But their greatest challenge might actually be figuring out how to move past the euphoria of that astounding finish and rekindle anew the emotional energy they’ll need for another win.

“Honestly, I’m just trying to turn the page and get ready for Minnesota,” said quarterback Ryan Tannehill, whose throw to Kenny Stills near midfield preceded a lateral to DeVante Parker and another one to Drake, who raced the remaining 52 yards for the score. “It was a pretty high high there, and a lot of hoopla around it, but at the end of the day, we still have a lot of work to do in this season.”

The winning touchdown was quickly branded as the ”Miami Miracle ,” which sure sounds familiar to Minnesota.

The Vikings, of course, beat New Orleans in their divisional-round playoff game last season on a last-play, 61-yard touchdown pass from Case Keenum to Stefon Diggs made possible when Saints safety Marcus Williams whiffed on his tackle attempt to allow Diggs to pivot and speed away through the open field.

The following week, with the prospect of playing the Super Bowl on home turf tantalizingly close, the Vikings fell flat in the NFC championship game in Philadelphia. Months after the 38-7 loss to the Eagles, coach Mike Zimmer acknowledged he underestimated the emotional toll even in victory that the “Minneapolis Miracle” might have had on his players.

Asked this week about the key to keeping a team grounded coming off such an exhilarating game, Zimmer said, “I’m not going to tell them that.”

This time, it’s up to Dolphins coach Adam Gase to figure that out.

“We really don’t have a choice. We’re in survival mode, as far as every game is big for us. We have to do everything we can to try to win this one,” Gase said. “We don’t have time to get caught up in lastweek.”